


Disillusioned Ideals

by Komoku



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Changes to Dimitri Arc, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Minor Changes to Setting, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25030600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komoku/pseuds/Komoku
Summary: Dimitri is, fundamentally, a good person. Unfortunately for him, Fodlan is not a welcoming place for people like him.Will Dimitri bend his ideals to survive? Or will he lie to himself? Or will he stick to it to the bitter end?
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, My Unit | Byleth/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23





	1. Who Bernadetta von Varley is

It was a place of contradiction.

The notion of space and time seemed to be without meaning here. Nothingness stretching towards infinity, rendering the idea of motion meaningless. The passage of time appeared to flow in arbitrary speeds. At times it's as though like days passed through at the blink of an eye, and at times it took days for a single second to pass. The fact that one would experience changing rates of time passing when there is no indication of that is, in itself, a contradiction, but that's just how it is. That's just how this place works.

The oddness pertained not only to where Byleth was in but himself as well. Whatever state Byleth was in, it lacked coherence. Though Byleth was aware of himself existing, he was unable to control himself. Limbs ignoring commands to move, lips unable to utter words, thoughts being barely organised and discernable. Byleth was simultaneously himself, and an observer of himself, lacking control over things that should be his.

The strangest part, however, was that it seemed natural for this to occur. Everything in this place should be in contradiction. Logic should not exist here. Anything that Byleth's remaining consciousness deemed normal had no place here.

In such a void, Byleth could only let himself drift, unable to conceive how much time had actually passed. Was it days, or months, or even years since he has arrived at this place? Why was he even here in the first place? Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to use his remaining consciousness, he couldn't remember. Eventually, these questions too dissolved into the nothingness.

......

Bernadetta von Varley was never particularly loyal to the Adrestian Empire. Emperor Ionius IX never did anything that benefited Bernadetta personally, nor did her family showed her the love she needed. If anything, the opposite happened. 

Ever since Bernadetta was a kid, her father, the Count of Varley territory, forced her into inhumane levels of training to make her, in his eyes, the ideal wife to marry off. She was tied to a chair, made to be submissive and had to remain silent for hours on end daily. Count Varley also forbade Bernadetta to socialise with commoners, going so far as to make her only childhood friend vanish forever.

In short, her early life was filled with nothing but traumatic memories.

Things, however, started to change when she was involuntarily enrolled in the Officers' Academy in the Garreg Mach Monastery. Though she still had difficulties with her people in general, she met someone special. 

The first time Bernadetta heard about Byleth, she imagined a cold-blooded killing machine that piles corpses on top of each other without any remorse. Someone gave him money and a seemingly decent reason, and his sword would cut through some person's torso. Perhaps, as she later admitted, this was unfair to Byleth since the only thing she heard the man has done was saving the house leaders, it was difficult for her to not imagine things in the worst-case scenario.

Things started to change when Bernadetta bumped into Byleth when she was sneaking out to grab some food from the dining hall at the middle of the night, and he was returning to his dorm while reading some documents. 

Since Bernadetta belonged to the Black Eagles' house and Byleth was teaching to the Blue Lions' house, her first impression of him never changed. Therefore, when she realised who she bumped into, Bernadetta thought that she was dead for good, and just stayed on the ground and started crying. It was a miracle that nobody woke up from that.

However, instead of murdering her in cold-blood, Byleth just apologised. Obviously, this was not enough to calm Bernadetta down. Given that the Blue Lions were either more cheerful or more stoic, this was the first time that Byleth had to comfort someone. 

Not knowing what to do, he tried cracking jokes that he thought was considered funny by people, hoping that it would calm her down. He also tried to smile, hoping that it would make him less intimidating. 

His efforts worked out, but not entirely.

After realising that she still wasn't killed, Bernadetta tried to process what was going on. The first thing she registered was Byleth making a weird face, one that was reminiscent of the clowns she saw in her fables. 

"He's trying to make fun of me! He probably sees me as nothing but a hot mess! Useless! Worthless! Stupid! Hilarious! Unmarriageable!" she thought to herself. 

Noticing that Bernadetta stopped crying, Byleth stopped and thought he did a great job. However, as soon as Byleth tried to help her stand back up, she just ran away, leaving him flabbergasted. 

"Don't use a joke to calm down a situation." Byleth silently noted to himself.

This encounter was not without merit, however. As embarrassing the situation was for Bernadetta, she also realised that Byleth, the new professor, at least wasn't as cold-blooded as she thought.

Few days after the incident, Byleth invited Bernadetta to tea, hoping to correct the misunderstandings that happened. Though afraid of socialising, Bernadetta's fear of Byleth actually murdering her this time if she turned him down won out, and reluctantly accepted the invitation. 

"He'll probably just make fun of me. Of course he will, who wouldn't want to look down on someone as pathetic as me..." Bernadetta thought to herself as she followed Byleth to the table. 

To her surprise, he didn't taunt her in any manners. The moment they sat down, he slammed his head on the table and apologised. Confused and freaked out, Bernadetta asked him what he was doing. 

"I was taught that you have to kneel and place your head on the floor when you want to show sincerity in your apology. Given that we are sitting, I thought placing my head on the table would be a suitable substitution." He replied, sounding extremely serious.

At first, Bernadetta thought he was still making fun of her. However, Byleth's stoic face when he did it (which made the entire scenario that much more bizarre) somehow convinced her that he was serious.

"Oh, eh, that isn't necessary Professor, it was my fault for sneaking out at night," she replied, trying to get Byleth's head up again. "Besides, people, eh, usually don't do that when they apologise, I think..."

Their time following the exchange was pretty pleasant. Bernadetta realised that Byleth was not trying to tease or make fun of her. The man was just clueless in regular social interactions. For some reason, this made Byleth suddenly more endearing than most people she had met in the Monastery.

Though it was not without accidents here and there, Bernadetta and Byleth learned about each other more and more as time passes. Every time Byleth had some free time, he would invite Bernadetta to tea, to which she happily complies. 

Eventually, they fell in love.

It happened at Ethereal Moon, soon after the Blue Lion's mission to Remire Village. When Byleth returned to the Monastery, he was devastated by what he witnessed. For a few days, he was just curling in his dorm, staring into the void thinking about the lives he was forced to take, some of them he knew personally during his time in Remire Village. 

Witnessing the state of mind Byleth was in, Bernadetta did what she thought was unthinkable. Despite her mind yelling at her that this was a bad idea, Bernadetta invited Byleth to a walk. 

Of course, she expected that she would be turned down; after all, who really cares about this pathetic unmarriageable girl? Nonetheless, something in her heart compelled her to do so.

To her surprise, Byleth agreed, which filled her with joy. 

As they walk across the Monastery, Byleth shared to Bernadetta what he saw and had to do. Though he did not cry, Bernadetta could feel the amount of sorrow in his words.

"In the past, I was not able to understand why they treated my father and me with the amount of hospitality that they did. By all accounts, we are only outsiders that will leave eventually. Teaching in the Monastery made me understand how they felt, watching a kid like me growing up into adulthood." He added, with a melancholic expression. "When I look at you guys, I thought that it would be nice if you guys show up once in a while. They probably thought the same, so I planned on visiting Remire Village once in a while during my holidays... In the end, all I returned was a stab through their chest..."

What Byleth said was, without a doubt, tragic. However, as someone who has never been to Remire Village personally, what happened there was not of Bernadetta's primary concern. The thing that she was most sad about was seeing how it affected Byleth, someone who she thought genuinely cared for her, despite not even teaching her directly. She saw how lost he was as if there were no paths to move forward. She saw how big of a toll it took on her dear professor, and how, despite it was too much to process despite his best efforts.

Bernadetta saw a man who felt helpless like she was her entire life.

At that moment, she jumped and kissed Byleth. Her body did it instinctively without her mind thinking it through, much less approving of her actions. That kiss that lasted for merely half a second caused a massive storm in Bernadetta's mind, most of which consists of her cursing herself for being stupid enough to even dream about it, not to mention act on it.

However, when Bernadetta saw that Byleth did not reject it, she mustered up all the energy she could and said:

"You are eh, not alone, professor. I ... eh, might be clumsy, but I will try my best to help you...You've always been there for me during the past few months, and ...oh god what I am doing... I will always be there for you! So, professor, please let me share the pain with you..."

Not knowing how to respond, Byleth just stood there. He vaguely understands what a kiss entails, but he had never imagined something like that would ever happen to someone as emotionally distant as he is. 

At the same time, he saw how the usually timid girl was trying to comfort her. Usually, Bernadetta would have just runoff if something like this happened, like the time Byleth saw her running away from Edelgard. That wasn't what Bernadetta is doing right now. Though her face was completely red, and her eyes are barely holding back her tears, she was trying her best not to run away. Not for anyone else, but Byleth.

Upon this realisation, Byleth, not knowing a better way to respond, swooped in for a kiss, this time lasting longer than the last one they shared. It is at that moment they realised that they loved each other. With that in mind, Byleth asked whether Bernadetta is willing to be his girlfriend. She replied, first time without any hesitation in her life, yes.

For a brief moment, they shared some happy moments. 

Though still generally unwilling to leave her room for too long at a time, Bernadetta and Byleth experienced a lot of new things. Their first date in their life, Byleth spending money on someone else, Bernadetta learning how to fish... It was nothing but delightful. That night when they sneaked out of the White Heron's ball and went to the Goddess' Tower instead was the best thing that either of them has experienced in their life.

Things immediately went wrong after that.

At the very next day, Captain Jeralt, Byleth's father, died at the hands of Monica, condemning Byleth to an even more depressed state than he was in during the start of the month. In the past, Byleth made a point of inviting people to tea when it's their birthday. This month he did not invite anyone to tea, not even Bernadetta. He also spent most of his time in his dorm or the Captains' quarter, unable to move on. He was absent for most of his classes, adding work to Professor Manuela and Professor Hanneman, not that they objected.

Not knowing what to do, all Bernadetta was able to do was to give flowers to Captain Jeralt's tombstone and pray that he can get better again.

For a brief moment, this seemed to be the case.

After the Blue Lions' mission to rout out Monica and her people, Byleth seemed to recovered. Though not without a new sense of subtle solemness in his eyes, Byleth, was able to smile again, resuming his usual routine and acting like the person he used to be.

However, though his mental state seems to have started to recover, his physical appearance was very different. His hair was now light green, reminiscent of not only Archbishop Rhea, but the goddess Sothis herself. He also started to radiate an aura, so divine that made Bernadetta felt little. Though her feelings towards Byleth had not changed (in fact she was overwhelmed with joy that her beloved professor was no longer depressed), Bernadetta needed time to adjust.

That was the biggest mistake Bernadetta ever made.

Edelgard suddenly became the emperor of the Adrestian Empire and declared war on the Holy Church of Seiros. The Black Eagles, alongside with the Golden Deers, were forced to retreat away from the Monastery. The only people that remained were the Knights of Seiros and the Blue Lions, which was lead by Bernadetta's beloved professor. Bernadetta tried to stay, but the knights forcefully placed her into one of the wagons and drove her away, back into Varley territory where her parents are.

The next time she heard from one of the maids in her household, her beloved professor has gone missing.

The news filled her heart with despair. From her perspective, the only person she was sure loved her was gone from the world. To make things worst, Count Varley was ordered a house arrest, meaning that Bernadetta had to face her father every day. 

It was nothing short of a nightmare, to have gained the one thing that she thought she doesn't deserve and will never have, only to lose it soon after, and to have to remind of her childhood every day. Among all the things that had happened, what tormented Bernadetta most was how her inability to adjust to Byleth's physical changes made them unable to say goodbye properly. Their final moments were that of Bernadetta once again locking away, in some sense rendering their time together meaningless. The amount of guilt was unbearable to her.

After five years, Bernadetta ran away. 

Bernadetta didn't know what she had expected. As a recluse, she was obviously not built for a nomadic lifestyle. She did not form a deep enough bond with anyone else to rely on. Garreg Mach Monastery was out of the question, as she doesn't know who is occupying it and is too afraid to check it out herself.

She thought that she is just going to die trying to run away sooner or later, not that anyone would care enough for her. 

Somewhat fortunately, despite not trained to survive in the wild, her affinity to bow and efforts to nurture it during her time in the Officer's Academy made it so that she could hunt for enough food every day. Varley territory being near the Oghma mountains also meant that she could secure water from one of the streams running from the top.

Nonetheless, Bernadetta was simply living in borrowed time. After all, the arrows she used for hunting would run out in time. Her knowledge of survival was never enough to sustain her for long term anyways.

"Well, no one wants Bernie anyways, so I guess that's a fitting end for me!" She told herself now and then, trying to make light of the terrible situation she found herself in. Still, she tried her damn hardest to survive, knowing that that's what Byleth would wish for her.

In the end, her efforts paid off.

Due to winter coming in, Bernadetta went further down the stream to try to locate prey. Instead, she saw something odd. Twigs emerged among the stones, yet bent downwards as if to cover up something. 

Out of curiosity, Bernadetta decided to look at what is within it. When she removed the twigs, she saw what she thought was long gone.

It was her beloved professor, Byleth.

There were small bruises around his body, but none of them seemed to be lethal. His armour, though damaged, was still mainly in tacked. Most importantly, he was breathing.

This gave Bernadetta an overwhelming sense of joy. Suddenly, her life which she thought would slowly rot in the woods away from the war, was rekindled again. Her tears came rushing out of her eyes, unable to contain the amount of joy and hope she is experiencing right now. 

Her mind was immediately filled with words she thought she would never have the chance to speak; the longing of his touch, the regret for being scared of his new appearance, but most of all, her love to his entire existence that only grew during the five years when she experienced none.

But then, if there was only one thing she had learned during her time as a nomad, it was composure. Of course, deep down, she was still Bernadetta, the recluse who was afraid of how people see and hate her. Nonetheless, at times like this, to survive, she had to suppress those anxieties enough to hunt or escape as needed. It was challenging and harsh at first, but by the time, she was already a lot more composed than she started. 

After the short burst of emotion via crying, she immediately started to carry Byleth back to her site where they will be relatively safe. Once they arrived, Bernadetta tried to wake Byleth up in a plethora of ways. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to work. 

Seeing that this is the case and after some hard time, Bernadetta decided one thing. She will find a village and take care of Byleth in there until he wakes up. 

It is a hard choice for Bernadetta, especially after months of isolation. However, she decided that nothing would sway her from taking care of Byleth, not after she indirectly abandoned him five years ago. 

Like she promised when they confessed to each other, Bernadetta will no longer leave Byleth, no matter what it takes for the little recluse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first fanfiction (and really my first work of fiction), hoping to fix the problems I see in Azure Moon.
> 
> Back when I just finished Crimson Flower only, I was extremely satisfied with the conclusion and the character arcs of really everyone in my class. However, when I look at Reddit, I saw that Blue Lions was kind of the defacto most popular route. Interested in it, I read some spoilers and got extremely excited at the prospect of a character-driven narrative. Unfortunately, in my mind, a lot of things fell flat, and now Azure Moon is my least favourite route.
> 
> Despite that, I saw a lot of potential to the route, ones that if realised may have topped Crimson Flower. I want to see whether that is the case, which is why I am writing a piece of fiction for the first time. 
> 
> Also, I am a huge Bernadetta fan. If I am lucky enough to pick a girl to date within Three Houses, I will pick Bernie without a doubt, hence why she is here. Nonetheless, AM is written without her in mind, which is why the majority of chapter one will be trying to fit her into the narrative before it begins.
> 
> Huge thanks to people from a certain Discord server for discussing Azure Moon with me and giving me some ideas that I may be able to incorporate in the future.
> 
> Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!


	2. The return of Byleth

There are brief moments during the drift when Byleth's mind has more control.

Though he is never completely unconscious, his mind is never functional enough to use. Instead, all he can do is feel the contradiction wash over him. 

Sometimes, however, he does have more control over his mind. It is during these times that he asks questions about the state he finds himself in. However, these occurrences are few and far between, and quickly decay back into the nothingness, leaving Byleth's mind dysfunctional again in mere seconds.

This time, however, there is something different. It's a voice that brings Byleth's control back onto the table, instead of it randomly happening.

"You.... how long do you intend to sleep? Your body is awake. Your eyes must open now, and you must find the strength to stand upon those legs of yours. Like so much rain, a pool of blood has fallen to the ground... As spears and arrows pierce the earth, it weeps. And even now, it weeps. In order to survive, they kill. And so, the people of this world are lost in an abyss of suffering. They weep as well. The only one who truly knows the nature of such things is I... or rather, you." The voice says.

"Who?" asks Byleth, barely unable to pinpoint who the voice belongs to despite it warming his body that he forgot existed. Byleth knows that he had heard the voice before. Not only that, the sense of nostalgia the voice gives him tells him that he misses whoever the owner of that voice is.

"Excuse me?! Are you saying you have forgotten who I am? How dare you! 

Get on your feet. Right now! I'll coddle you no more! You're just like a child, always needing me to hold your hand..."

And just like that Byleth knows precisely who this voice belongs to. Of course, it was her, the one that will always scold Byleth whenever he did something tactless, but always offer help to get Byleth out of the situation. The one who will tease Byleth whenever he or Bernadetta said something cringeworthy to each other. The one whose curiosity pushed Byleth into learning more about the world around him.

The first friend Byleth made who cared for him.

His consciousness is rapidly overtaking the darkness, causing it to retreat back to the infinity. His body slowly regaining functionality, soon to be able to be commanded by his mind. His thoughts are no longer drifting aimlessly and are getting more coherent as the void breaks down.

Before it's too late, Byleth's look into the crumbling nothingness and says, "Thank you, Sothis." Though there isn't any indication, Byleth is sure that his friend heard him.

Seconds after the void completely broke down, Byleth opens his eyes.

  
......  


Hartle Village is located within the Alliance Territory alongside the Airmid river, between the Great Bridge of Myrrdin and Garreg Mach Monastery. It is relatively small, with only around a hundred or so villagers. The villagers lived primarily off of hunting in the nearby forest, like Bernadetta is doing now.

Back then during the monastery days, Bernadetta passed by this village several times when Professor Manuela led her class to monthly missions. The memories of these missions are not exactly pleasant for Bernadetta. Still, her remembering the existence of Hartle village gives her a target to aim for immediately after deciding that Byleth and her need to stay in some settlements.

Fortunately for Bernadetta, though the villagers weren't able to recognise her, they recognised Byleth from when he and the Blue Lions were heading to defend Derdriu from the pirates. During the journey, they stayed one night in Hartle Village, where the Blue Lions shared a lot of stories with the villagers regarding Faerghas. Byleth, on the other hand, spent his time trying his best to entertain the kids. They were thoroughly entertained for the wrong reasons.

Ultimately, the stay left a good impression of Byleth and the Blue Lions onto the villagers. Therefore, it takes little to no effort for Bernadetta to convince the villagers to allow her and Byleth to stay in the village. The only requirement is for Bernadetta to provide food for herself, Byleth, and whoever hosts her, hunting or otherwise. After months of living as a nomad, this much is nothing for Bernadetta.

The prey that Bernadetta is currently hunting for is a deer, an incredibly agile one. In the past few months, it would have been a gamble to even consider hunting deer, as they are too fast even for Bernadetta to ensure bullseye. If Bernadetta missed, it would have meant a valuable arrow gone to waste for nought. However, she now has more resources at her disposal, specifically ropes made from plant fibres. This allows Bernadetta to set traps in several spots along where she thinks the deer might pass through, which is what she is doing right now.

Afterwards, she starts gathering plants that can be used for food. After all, there is no guarantee that the traps will catch a deer today, if ever.

"Hey, Bernie! How nice to see you here!" says Claire, spotting Bernadetta collecting carrots.

"AHHHH WHO IS IT DON'T KILL M-, oh, it's you, Claire," Bernadetta responds, realising who it was that called her.

Claire is the first acquaintance that Bernadetta made in Hartle Village. Her brother went to war as part of the Alliance army, leaving her an empty room to provide for Bernadetta and Byleth. Apparently, Claire was one of the kids that Byleth entertained five years ago, which is why she and her family was so welcoming. 

Being who she is, Bernadetta initially tried to avoid Claire and her family as much as possible, outside from the obligatory greetings during the morning. She was aware of how rude she's acting towards Claire, but she needs time to warm up to new people, especially after months spent in isolation. 

Fortunately, at least in some sense, Claire is too curious to let Bernadetta go with just that. Time and time again, Claire will just show up when Bernadetta least expects, such as when she is cleansing herself inside the woods. Of course, Claire respects Bernadetta's time with Byleth in their room. But other than that, Claire can appear at any moment.

Initially, Bernadetta found this very troublesome. After all, she hoped to spend her time either in peace or helping Byleth. However, though startling, Claire never did it out of malice. Slowly, Bernadetta learned to appreciate someone other than Byleth caring for her, minus the shock every time Claire announces her entrance that is.

"What are you hunting for today?" Claire asks, eyes wide open and mouth drooling. 

"I was, eh... hoping to catch a deer for dinner. But it's my first time, so...eh, don't put your hopes on me..." Bernadetta replies while continuing to gather carrots and tomatoes alike into her backpack.

"A deer?! That sounds great! Tell me! What can I do to help! Claire wants to tear through a deer today!" exclaims Claire, dancing around thinking about what she may be able to eat tonight.

"Ehm... I don't think there's anything you can help for now since I've used up all the materials for trapping... But I guess you can help me check the traps when I return...?" Bernadetta replies while closing her backpack as she had cleaned up the area during their exchange. "For the meantime, I think I will go back and rest."

"Well, I'm joining, in that case~ I've collected my share of veggies as well." sighs Claire, disappointed that there is no action that she can throw herself into. 

  
......  


The road back to the village is more comfortable to pass through than usual forest lands. Though it is still primarily rocks, soil, and vegetation, there are signs of human activity scattered across with navigation purposes. Several passages are slightly larger than usual, allowing people to carry their games back to the village with better ease. Every few dozen steps, there are carvings of arrows pointing towards the village. As the distance closes in, there are footprints, pieces of clothing that can be spotted on the ground. 

There are still landscapes that can create some trouble, such as hanging vines and the perpetual danger of large mammals such as tigers. However, to villagers like Claire and seasoned hunters like Bernadetta who have even the slightest experience in the woods, only minimal attention is needed to safely cross through the woods. 

"Hey Bernadetta, tell me some love stories between you and your dear Byleth please," says Claire.

"I would much rather not..." replies Bernadetta, partly because of embarrassment, and partly in her mind because there isn't much to tell anyway. 

"But how can I grab myself a fine man if you won't share how you got yours!" Claire objects with a pout on her face. "Or would you take responsibility and find me a man? Or would you take care of me yourself!"

"Isn't that what I'm doing already...forget it..." sighs Bernadetta, knowing that continuing this conversation will only tire her further. Given that she might have to carry a deer back later in the day, it's best to conserve some energy.

"Let's change the topic then, how did you two fall in love?"

"Are these topics all your brain thinks about?"

"Yes"

For the first time in her life, Bernadetta considers murder.

"You know life isn't just lo..."

Before Bernadetta can finish her sentence, a flash of white light shines through the edge of her vision. Was it magic? Thoron? Perhaps Thunder? She thought to herself, going through some of the black magic used by her classmate Dorothea. However, none of those registered with the brightness that caught her attention. One thing that she did realise is that the light originated from Hartle village.

"Mother!" shouts Claire, dropping everything to the ground and starting to run towards the village, with Bernadetta following immediately.

As they are running towards the village, Bernadetta starts analysing who could have caused the explosion. She immediately rules out the Alliance Army, as there is no reason to cause conflicts within their own territory. Last she heard the Kingdom army were in no shape to invade after Byleth's student, heir of the Kingdom, Dimitri's execution. 

"Oh goddess, it must be the Imperial Troops! They are here to bring me back!" she concludes, terrified by the answer she got.

After a few minutes of nonstop running, Claire and Bernadetta arrive back at Hartle village. To their surprise, this doesn't seem to be an attack, as there aren't any soldiers around. Instead, a lot of villagers are currently surrounding Claire's house. 

"Claire! Ms Von Varley! Here!" woman within the crowd yelled while waving her hand.

"Mother!" shouts Claire while embracing her. "I'm so glad that you're safe! What's going on?"

"I don't know either, I was at Mrs Huxley's when the light appeared. Right now, most men are outside hunting, so no one is entering the house to check what happened." the woman, Claire's mother, Ms Taylor, explains. 

"If that's the case...do you mind if I were to go in and check what has happened?" asks Bernadetta, grabbing the crowds' attention which makes her very uncomfortable. The longer there isn't an answer, the more she wants to dig a hole and hide in it. 

That being said, knowing that this isn't an attack, Bernadetta noticed a new possibility. It's one that Bernadetta had hoped for every day. She prayed to the goddess for this to happen every morning even though she was never devoted. Every night before Bernadetta falls asleep, she had hoped for this to happen. At times, she even dreamt of it actually happening, only to get waken up by the excitement and got disappointed by reality.

However, this time, it may actually be real. After all, Bernadetta knew that her lover is no ordinary human. It will not be surprising if there are massive explosions of light accompanying Byleth when he wakes up someday like what just happened.

Therefore, Bernadetta cannot run away from fear and self-doubt. She wants to be the first one Byleth sees when he wakes up. She wanted to tell him how much she missed him during the five years, how much she regretted shutting herself away for only a change in hair colour, and how much she loved him. 

Of course, it could be that it isn't what Bernadetta has hoped for and something else has happened. But as long as there is a possibility, she cannot back down. 

She bites her lips, causing a sip of blood to drip from her face. The pain sharpens her focus and covers up the fear. "It's fine," she tells herself in her mind. 

"Well, I suppose you would be the most suitable candidate to check out what happened." says the head of the villager, Mr Rolfe, who appeared from the middle of the crowd. "If you encounter any danger, please leave the house as soon as possible. I understand that you are concerned for Mr Byleth, but your safety is as important as his is."

"I understand...Thank you for your concern." Bernadetta replies as she starts entering the house.

There is nothing strange on the ground floor. The potatoes, tomatoes and other vegetables are in the same places they are usually in. The chairs and tables are still standing as usual. There aren't any odd footprints on the floor either other than those muddy ones that Bernadetta brought in. This means that whatever caused the light must have originated from the bedrooms. Needless to say, Bernadetta decided to check on her and Byleth's one first.

As she walks up the stairs, memories start to fill up her heart. The first time they meet, the first time they actually talked to each other. The times when Byleth's innocence and lack of social knowledge made Bernadetta giggled. The times she did the same to him through her clumsiness.

Alas, she's right outside the room, separated only by a closed door. Bernadetta is only one push away from verifying whether her lover really did wake up. At the same time, the prospect that that wasn't what happened terrifies her. 

Of course, there is the question that if it wasn't Byleth than what caused the lights? But to Bernadetta, what really frightens her is the prospect that maybe Byleth will never wake up, and this may serve as the nail in the coffin. After all, if even such an event wasn't Byleth waking up, what could be?

Once again, Bernadetta bites her lips, causing another slip of blood to drip. She took a huge breath, and then she pushed the door. 

Beyond the door, she saw Byleth sitting up on the bed.

Tears immediately rushing down her face. Her heart starts beating heavily, so loudly that she can hear it without paying attention. She wanted to speak, but her mouth is too shaky to do so.

Noticing that door opened up, Byleth turned his head towards it and saw Bernadetta. "Bernadetta...? Is that you?" he asks, given that Bernadetta looks different from when he last saw her. She's now much taller than five years ago, her hair is also more organised than before. Moreover, compared to the timid person she was five years ago, Bernadetta now seems more seasoned and experienced.

However, there's one thing that allowed Byleth to immediately recognise the woman in front to be the woman he loves. It's her eyes, the ones that don't see Byleth as the Ashen Demon or as the perfect professor that people deemed him to be. In her eyes, she only saw Byleth for who he was, a person wanting to be loved as a human.

Bernadetta immediately rushes towards Byleth, hugging him and starts crying. All of the worries, guilt and love, she is no longer capable of bottling them up. Byleth hugs her back, trying to calm her down despite still feeling very exhausted from just waking up from the five-year slumber. 

After ten minutes or so, Bernadetta regains her composure, stops crying, and says to the person she loves most with the brightest smile on her face, "Welcome back!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, it's me. Sorry for how long it took. I never realised how difficult it was to write chapter two in comparison to chapter one.
> 
> This chapter is basically setting up the return of Byleth, the second main character. I wanted it to have some thrill in it, not just "oh he's discovered by random villagers." I believe the best way to approach in the context of this fanfic is to highlight how important it was to Bernadetta. For that to happen, we need to begin the scene with Bernadetta.
> 
> I know, this fanfic was supposed to be about Dimitri, and I promise he will be here in the next chapter. However, I don't want to rush his introduction. Even with my mixed feelings regarding his route, there are only two things that I would change with their reunion, both of them due to Bernadetta being here, meaning that it's not a problem with the game. That's why I wanted to break his introduction with this chapter so that I can focus on building it up entirely.
> 
> Originally, I planned on releasing this chapter with chapter three. But given how long it took this chapter to be produced, and how much work seems to be needed in the next one after some experimentations, I changed my decision and released this one first. I'll try my best to bring chapter three to light as soon as possible so that Dimitri is finally here. But in the meantime, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!


End file.
